We chose Adora for Lake Bled and its island. Staying in a small villa beside the water put that famous view within reach throughout the day: from our balcony, from a wooden rowing boat, and from the opposite shore at sunrise.
It was my birthday trip, in November. I have a little tradition of spending that morning in a country I have never visited before, and Slovenia gave me a particularly lovely one. We went out early with coffee and our cameras. Mist lay over the lake, swans moved through it, and the island was there in front of us. I had wanted to see this view for myself. Adora gave us a place to stay close to it.
A villa beside the lake
Adora Luxury Hotel, also called Villa Adora, stands at Cesta svobode 35 on the southern side of Lake Bled. The lakeside road passes in front of the house, with the water just beyond it. From here, the shore leads towards the centre of Bled in one direction and around towards the western end of the lake in the other. Boat rentals are close by. We loved the location.
The villa dates from 1878 and opened as a hotel in 2012. Its scale is part of its appeal. There is a sense of staying in a house, with rooms and balconies fitted into an older building. The traditional interiors suit it, and the autumn foliage made November a good time to see the place.
Our room and its balcony
The distinction between a room with a view and a balcony with a view matters here. In our room, we could see the lake and island only from the balcony. We had to step outside for that prospect; it was not a panorama from the bed.
I would be specific about this when booking. Ask what is visible from the room itself and what can be seen from its balcony, and make sure the category you choose has the outlook you want. The view was the reason we had come, so it deserves more attention than a general promise of a lake-facing room. Our balcony gave us that connection to Bled, and we loved having it.
We had breakfast in our room after the sunrise outing, before heading out again to hire a boat.
Sunrise across the water
For the sunrise photographs, we drove to the opposite side of the lake. It took us about three minutes from the hotel to reach the western shore, near Velika Zaka. There is a wooden walkway beside the water here, with a direct view towards the island. You can take photographs at lake level without climbing to one of the higher viewpoints.
We sat with our coffee and took photographs as the morning light came through the mist. It was cold, but this was the birthday morning I had hoped for: time beside the lake, with very little to hurry us. Staying so close made an early start easy. Afterwards, we could go back to the villa for breakfast.
Later, we hired a small wooden rowing boat from the rental by the neighbouring guesthouse. From the water, we could look back at Adora and up towards the castle. Hiring our own boat let us spend time out on the lake at our own pace.
Dining at Adora
Adora promotes chef Domen Demšar’s cooking, and we had hoped to try it. But the restaurant was closed for the low season during our November stay.
Lunch at Old Cellar Bled
Lunch was at Old Cellar Bled, at Cesta svobode 12. It is a substantial restaurant with lake-facing rooms and a menu that gives plenty of space to Slovenian food. Alongside the fish and meat dishes were cottage-cheese štruklji and traditional sausage with buckwheat. It was a good place to explore local cooking while keeping the lake in sight.
I had grilled octopus with black rice, followed by Bled cream cake and apple strudel. The meal was excellent, and having those desserts at a table overlooking the water felt entirely appropriate.
Dinner in Bled Castle
For dinner, we went up to Bled Castle Restaurant, run by Jezeršek. The castle had been part of our view from the lake; that evening, it became the place we were going to eat. It made a lovely setting for a birthday dinner.
We both ordered tasting menus and tried local wine. Mine included sweet-potato soup, filled pasta with polenta, cottage cheese and pumpkin, and zander with carrots. The cooking was more elaborate than at lunch, and the dinner was excellent from beginning to end. One of the wines was Movia Veliko 2012.
Book this meal in advance. Jezeršek currently includes admission to the castle with an advance lunch or dinner reservation, so check the arrangements when reserving. The menu changes with the season; the dishes here are those we ate during our autumn visit.
Adora belongs in my Lodgings collection because of what it brought close. We could have breakfast in our room, step onto the balcony for the island, take a boat out and return to a small villa on the shore. The restaurant closure and the precise position of the room are worth understanding before booking. But the lake was the reason for choosing this address, and it gave us the stay we had wanted.